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Tag: Alcohol Crime

  • ACT Police Minister calls for Alcohol Crime Squad Reinstatement

    The Police Commissioner, Simon Corbell has called for the reinstatement of the crime squad and has also described changes to the policing of alcohol crime in the territory as “sensible”, saying that licensed venues will continue to pay higher fees to help fund the services.

    The Attorney-General has promised that the amalgamation of an alcohol crime squad with the city beats police will not reduce efforts to tackle alcohol-related crime.

    The opposition have asked that the government reinstate an alcohol crime task force which was amalgamated with the city beat police to fill in due to the lack of officers patrolling at night, when most alcohol fuelled incidents occur.

    The Canberra Liberals will also call for at least $15 million that was cut from the ACT Police’s budget. The money is required to employ more police for the currently understaffed city beat. In addition to the calls from extra beat police, there will also be a call for legislation to provide additional protection for police who are assaulted in the line of duty.

    Reports have surfaced which claim that police chiefs have been having to work with seriously low numbers of beat police even though written complaints from officers have been coming in at least once a month for the past 2 years.

    Police management have this month responded by merging the beats squad with the alcohol crime squad. The alcohol crime squad was established in 2010 under new liquor laws and are being funded in part by pubs and clubs through higher fees which licensees have to pay under a risk-based licensing scheme. The following excerpt from CanberraTimes.com.au explains:

    The alcohol task force was set up to curb alcohol-related violence. Funding the squad led the fees for some venues to rise to more than $10,000 under a risk-based licensing scheme.

    Mr Corbell told the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday he was informed of the amalgamation about a week ago. The Attorney-General said the move would not reduce police resources targeting alcohol-related crime.

    ”Madam Speaker, the decision is one which is a sensible one on the part of the chief police officer,” Mr Corbell said.

    ”The chief police officer is seeking to deploy his resources in the most effective way possible.

    ”Of course it makes sense that particularly on a Friday or Saturday night the alcohol crime targeting team, which is in operation often in the Civic area, will work with and co-operate with the city beats team.

    ”This does not result in any reduction in the capability of the new dedicated combined team to focus on alcohol-related crime and violence, and those activities will continue, I’m advised, unchanged.”

    Under questioning from the opposition, Mr Corbell said the new structure would not mean a reduction in or refund of fees for licensees.

    Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/hanson-to-call-for-reinstating-alcohol-crime-squad-20130917-2txlk.html#ixzz2fAsycbdL

    Clubs ACT are not happy with both the ACT government and police management, claiming that pubs and clubs were not informed about the changes, some even calling the changes deceitful.

     

     

  • Alcohol Crime Takes Too Much of Police Time

    According to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione alcohol fuelled crimes are up and are taking a huge amount of the police’s time and resources. The Commissioner says the police are spending around 70 per cent of their human resources on alcohol related crime in NSW, an issue that will feature high on the agenda at the 6th Australian Drug and Alcohol Strategy Conference which will begin on Wednesday.

    The conference will aim to tackle issues in Australia relating to alcohol abuse. The Commissioner who kickstarted the conference told the press that police spent most of their time dealing with offenders, victims and motorists in incidents induced by alcohol.

    It is interesting that Mr Scipione said the number of young people binge drinking was lower but those who were still binge drinking were consuming even larger amounts of alcohol. The Commissioner has urged parents and fathers in particular to educate their kids about the dangers of binge drinking and how to drink moderately and responsibly before they even reach their teen years.

    Read what this post from News.com.au says about the Commissioner’s complaints:

    ALCOHOL-RELATED crime takes up 70 per cent of all police work in NSW, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says.

    The 6th Australian Drug and Alcohol Strategy Conference kicked off on Wednesday in Sydney with top police brass and academics to deliver presentations and share ideas over the next three days.

    After opening the conference, Mr Scipione told reporters that police on the streets spent the majority of their time dealing with offenders, victims and motorists in incidents that involved alcohol.

    “The reality is about 70 per cent of police time on the streets … is in some way connected to the abuse or misuse of alcohol,” he said.

    “Alcohol is the number one issue on the agenda for police commissioners across this nation.”

    Mr Scipione said the number of people under the age of 25 who were binge drinking was in decline but those who engaged in heavy drinking were consuming larger amounts of alcohol.

    He stressed that parents, especially fathers, should educate their children about alcohol before they became teenagers.

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/alcohol-related-crime-takes-up-cops-time/story-e6frfku9-1226601388764#ixzz2O3ck3mjv

    An interesting issue highlighted by the Police Commissioner is the role of parents in educating young people about alcohol before they are old enough to make mistakes involving alcohol. Some of the worst case scenarios that can result from teen drinking is binge drinking, drink driving and unsafe sex which is why abstinence is best for teenagers.

    Particularly in Australia alcohol is tolerated as socially acceptable but it should be remembered that it is still a drug.  It should be noted that alcohol is responsible for most drug-related deaths in the teenage population in Oz and many other countries around the world.

    Additionally alcohol can be associated with a variety of serious health risks which for a teenagers developing body can be detrimental.  It’s difficult to prevent teenagers from experimenting with alcohol, but parents can encourage sensible drinking habits.